Managing outdoor site has been a fun ride

I've managed Wisconsinoutdoorfun.com since its launch in October 2010. In that time, I've had the pleasure of working with a bunch of great contributors and staff. I've also enjoyed getting out of the office for various events and projects.

My days of managing the site come to an end next week as I leave the company after 19 years to try something new.

Here's a rundown of my favorite moments from the last four-plus years:

10. Walleye fishing with a pro: The organizers of the AIM Pro Walleye Series invited me to their media day in the spring of 2011. I was paired with pro angler Tommy Kemos and spent a morning fishing the Wolf River in Fremont. I caught nothing, but Tommy went on to win that weekend's event.

9. Sturgeon Season Live 2015: We gave a new live show a try last month and it turned out well. I never expected the registration station we were positioned near to have that many fish walk up during the show.

8. Hiking the Ice Age Trail, alone: Our Wisconsin Day Trips series featured profiles of destinations around the state. One foggy morning I made the short drive to the eastern corner of Marathon County to capture some video along the Plover River segment of the Ice Age Trail. It was foggy on the empty trail and more than a bit creepy.

7. Meeting people at outdoor shows:

I hosted the Wisconsinoutdoorfun.com booth at outdoor shows around the state and thousands of great folks.

The Madison Fishing Expo was always a favorite as it offered a chance to see Gary Engberg, Len Harris, Dan Small and others.

And I must have visited the cage with the huge grizzly bear in the corner of the Journal-Sentinel Sports Show dozens of times in 2013. My first week in Milwaukee in 2012 included the second morning of the show in which the entire building smelled fishy. The aerator had failed at the trout pond overnight, but I did get to hold a bear cub that year.

6. WATVA VIP Ride in Tigerton: I jumped at the opportunity to ride the trails at the Embarrass River ATV Park in Tigerton in 2011. WATVA's Adam and Randy Harden invited me to their annual event, held near my hometown of Wittenberg. It was a beautiful fall day with trees beginning to change colors and the trail wound around a swiftly moving Embarrass River.

2. Wisconsinoutdoorfun.com spilling into all corners: As soon as I took my position managing Wisconsinoutdoorfun.com, I found that it was hard to not pack up my family and hit the road every weekend to explore a new part of the state. And even trips around Wisconsin ended up veering toward outdoor activities. Even a chance encounter with William Shatner.

1. Trout fishing with Len Harris and my kids:

There is one experience that sticks out in my mind more than any other. Avid trout angler Len Harris had bugged me for a while to join him for a morning of fishing on what he called the best trout stream in the state. Eventually, I agreed to make the trip down to Richland Center. The catch would be that I'd need to bring my kids along (8- and 7-years-old at that time) so that I could write a column or two on trout fishing with kids.

We met Len early on a sunny July morning in 2012. Len had cookies waiting for the kids, winning their friendship and attention. We drove to a scenic stream winding through a cow pasture in Crawford County.

The kids caught fish and got muddy and, in that morning, became fans of fishing for life as the morning ended with them dropping a simple hook and worm over and over into a school of trout that swam just upstream from us.

Brian Otten blogs about his experiences in the outdoors. Brian is the content manager of WisconsinOutdoorFun.com. If you have questions about the site, you can reach Brian at botten@wisconsinoutdoorfun.com or 715-845-0702.